Monday, August 29, 2011

Social Media Dilemma Revisited

, six months ago in which I asked where should I post my comments on blog posts drew some excellent comments. As a result I developed a personal policy that I would post my comments directly on the blog in question.

In the light of recent developments in the social media arena with the introduction of Google+ and the +1 Button I am reflecting on my dilemma and thinking about my policy on linking to (promoting) my blog posts and commenting on posts written by others.

I am aggravated when people with multiple online personalities tweet the same link in quick succession via two or more accounts, I see this as a form of spam. I will continue to tweet only as Geniaus and only tweet links to my blog posts once.

As many of my genealogy contacts are now on Google+ I will use that platform to promote my new blog posts. I choose this in preference to Facebook because I can easily target my posts to my Genealogy Circle and not clog up the streams of people in my other circles.

I try to comment on a few blog posts each day. Everyone enjoysa bit of positive reinforcement. As I believe that blogging is a a two-way street , a medium for online conversations, it is important to connect with those who have gone to the trouble of sharing their experiences and knowledge with me. The number of comments I make each day is dependent on the quantity, quality and relevance to me of the blog posts that day.

Some of the sharing options on my Android Tablet

As a result of the responses I had from bloggers to my initial dilemma post I will continue to comment directly on a blog. By commenting there I can add to the conversation the blog posts have evoked. If I were to only comment on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ about the posts those comments would stand alone and out of context from the original post.

I will use the +1 button on Google+ to notify my mates on Google+ of blog posts I find interesting. I do not need to complete a weekly 'best-of' as the +1's on my Google profile do that for me. I will use the share option on Google+ to tell others about those posts I find particularly noteworthy.

When findling links to blog posts on Twitter I will continue to retweet those I have found interesting or noteworthy and perhaps add a short comment to the retweet.

The majority of the notifications I have come via my RSS feed. I mostly read these on my Android tablet which gives me an option to easily share via a number of platforms. I select the most appropriate for each post I wish to share.

I wonder what preferences or policies other genealogists have for giving and receiving blog comments.
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Following on from Sharon's comment... I've spoken to a lot of people who are new to the Internet, and some are just not comfortable with leaving public comments. Others have told me that they only comment on blogs that offer the option to choose 'Name/URL' or 'Anonymous' as an identity. (Yours does, Sharon, I know, but some blogs don't.)

Jill, you said, "I am aggravated when people with multiple online personalities tweet the same link in quick succession via two or more accounts." Do you need to follow both personalities? Are they 'doubling up' enough to make it feasible for you to follow just one?